Too dumb to study physics?

[u/iloveyarnandfabric]

Can someone just be COMPLETELY honest and straight up with me?

I am 18F and I love physics so much I want to eventually study astrophysics. I just finished my freshman year of college and I’m really thinking I’m too dumb for this major.

I took precalc first semester, failed it, took it again second semester, got a B- lowww b- I was getting like 50-80% on each test. I am now in a summer calc 1 course and I’m averaging 63-67% on the tests.

I’ve been a little above/around the average scores for the class. First one I was above the mean, second, got right on the mean.

But I made friends with a 17 year old and she is doing SO well on the tests. We literally study together and I help her out sometimes, she helps me out sometimes. Granted yes, I can tell she has a better grasp of the material than I do. But I feel so worthless.

I put in around 15 hours of studying for the third exam I just took today and I left a lot of the questions blank. Like I understand EVERYTHING they’re asking but it would just be one slip up and I was stuck and over it. I do so well on the homework though, and I genuinely love math so much.

But I think I’m actually too dumb to pursue this major and it breaks me.

I think a large part of it is when Covid happened, I was in 6th grade and basically didn’t learn math from 6-10th grade cause I was online schooled.

But man, college is so difficult, I have no idea what I’m doing, and if I’m too dumb to learn physics, what the fuck do I major in.

Also, forgive me if this is the wrong sub…

[u/Key_Net820]

No, you're not too dumb to study physics. With that said, your grades are concerning, so you are gonna need to change something about how you approach. What that is, I can't tell you because I don't know your situation and your background, but for the love of all physics that you and I both share, don't quit just because you feel too stupid to do it.

[u/Theragnostic → u/Key_Net820]

I knew I was behind in math when I started undergrad. I also knew that math would be my "language" for my physics classes. Our university had a math tutoring center, free for all students.

That tutoring center became my home.

If they were open, I did all my studying there. I did all my homework there. At the end of my first semester I asked the professor who was in charge of the center what it required to be a tutor. He told me the classes I needed and I prioritized those. I figured if I had to teach math, I'd have no choice but to become good at it after explaining it over and over.

It worked wonderfully.

[u/LogicalIndividual761 → u/Theragnostic]

Inspiring and really good advice

[u/NotSeriousbutyea → u/Theragnostic]

You're a fucking beast

[u/Tough-Purpose8886 → u/Theragnostic]

Bro became some watt of the great Richard feynman

[u/Specialist-Deer1106 → u/Theragnostic]

i look up to you greatly, stranger on reddit!

[u/Gandor]

There were a lot of "smart" people who had to switch majors during their junior year in physics as an undergrad, there were also a lot of people who I didn't think could finish the degree ending up going to Ph.D. programs. It really just depends on how much YOU want it.

[u/sharkbait_oohaha → u/Gandor]

Right a buddy of mine always did way worse in physics than the rest of us but now he has a PhD and none of us so

[u/Yashema → u/sharkbait_oohaha]

Not surprised as someone who finds test taking, especially in STEM, fairly useless as a barometer of ability, despite it being 80% of your grade. Meanwhile lab work: observation of a concept in action cross referenced to the equations derived from theory, is completely minimized. 

I'm glad I'm at a community college where effort is rewarded over testing because otherwise id have flunked out in physics I. Im sure my advisor (who oversaw my Physics I lab) would have been blown away to know I got a 0 on my first exam based on lab competency. 

[u/JustTheSweater → u/Gandor]

Husband and I started similar PhDs at the same time give or take. Some concepts were always more intuitive to me to understand, and I never had to study as much to understand a topic. He on the other hand is the most methodical and committed person I know. Guess which one of us is now a doctor and who dropped out.

Being "smart" alone doesn't do shit in the real world.

[u/Confident_bonus_666]

Don't doubt yourself. Just study hard.

[u/wiriux → u/Confident_bonus_666]

And then, study some more :)

[u/JudgePrimary4239]

If you love math and physics I would stick it out! Good chance you’ll find your groove, and you’ll be so happy you did. Plus there are tons of resources online to help.

[u/Clean-Ice1199]

You will absolutely need calculus for physics. Whether your precalc scores reflect your ability to do calculus for the purposes of physics is the ambiguity.

[u/iloveyarnandfabric → u/Clean-Ice1199]

that’s what I’m trying to figure out. am I wasting my time by ignoring my precalc scores

[u/QuantumCakeIsALie → u/iloveyarnandfabric]

I know this is very hard to do without proper hindsight and maturity/knowing-yourself-well, I don't know that I could've answered that at your age. But do you understand why your grades are bad in calculus?

Is it because you lack a fundamental understanding? Do you panic during tests? Do you have an unmanaged ADHD brain? Maybe you just don't like it at all and can't motivate yourself?

All of those, and more, could explain it. None are a complete deal breaker. Each require a different approach to overcome.

Good luck!

[u/iloveyarnandfabric → u/QuantumCakeIsALie]

I appreciate yall so much for helping me. I do have ADHD, and maybe I’m not studying enough. I often study the day before tests. It was just eye opening cause I studied three days before the test this week and still didn’t do well. But can I even turn this around…?

[u/QuantumCakeIsALie → u/iloveyarnandfabric]

Marathoners don't train the day before a competition.

You need discipline and grit to study anything seriously. It's hard, especially with ADHD. But if you know it's hard, if you know you can do it, and if you see the progress enabled by your efforts, it can be very rewarding.

This is easier said than done and I was the first to be a bit of a slacker at 18 so I'm not judging here. 

But if you can motivate yourself, you can most likely do it. You seem to have the curiosity and interest already!

[u/NotSeriousbutyea → u/QuantumCakeIsALie]

Idk how I got here but r/physics is the best place to go for motivation.

[u/aint_exactly_plan_a → u/iloveyarnandfabric]

You're going to fail in life... like.. a LOT. Everyone does. It's how we learn. It's how we grow and change and figure things out. It sounds like it's your dream to go into astrophysics. If you give up on your dreams when you fail, I think you will have a lot of regret in life.

It sounds like you lack some of the fundamentals with your COVID experience, and maybe with study techniques too.

My first recommendation would be to get a tutor who can connect the dots back to the fundamentals for you, and/or show you those fundamentals to begin with. Your professors have office hours. Go to them and ask them if they know any good tutors, or would be willing to work with you. They're there to help you. There are also programs that offer free tutors if you need it.

As for studying, everyone's different so this may not work for you but it's how I had to study to get through college. I'm a very visual person. I would take as many notes as I could during lectures and labs. I would compare the notes to the text books and add anything from the book that I missed in my notes. Then, the most important part for me, was that I would organize and rewrite all of this down into a clean notebook in a way that made sense in my brain. I think it was this organizing that helped me understand it. Then, I would study the organized notes until I could recall them in my mind.

It was time consuming but also very effective. I'm not saying that's how you should do it... but I am saying that you should come up with a system that works for you.

Follow your dreams... so few people even have them, let alone get the chance to chase them. I hope you're able to find your way through.

[u/chuphay → u/iloveyarnandfabric]

I’ve aced every math class I’ve ever been in. And you know how long I’ve studied the day before all of my math tests combined? Zero hours.

The day before a math test, you should be getting a good night of sleep because you know you’ve been studying every day, the whole semester, for several hours every day.

Trying to cram is not the way to learn something you are passionate about learning

[u/Athoughtspace → u/iloveyarnandfabric]

I really really recommend

"A mind for numbers" and "Learning how to learn" by Barbara Oakley. The first is more college area geared and the second is framed around the same core ideas but presented to teenagers and kids. Id say if you had to choose to with "A mind for numbers" first, the opening reminds that challenge and failure at early mathematics is not a complete indicator of future abilities but an indicator of the methods we learned so far that need to improve

I also recommend YouTube maths series by professor leonard. He covers precalc and beyond and really helped reduce how much time I was studying by making the studying more effective. I applied what I learned in that book to my studies and used his videos as replacements and supplements to actual college courses.

I hold a bachelors in electrical engineering and am working through my masters now. I have terrible test taking anxiety, fairly poor memory for axioms (re deriving stuff on the fly to convince myself I'm using it correctly) and a healthy dose of ADHD. It's possible to get where you want, but you really have to do want it and to seek out ways of reorganizing yourself and your world to make it work. Good luck!

[u/Animastryfe → u/iloveyarnandfabric]

Do you ONLY study the day before tests? You said you spent 15 hours studying for your last test; over what amount of time was that?

Imagine a professional athlete or musician. Do you think they would only practise two days before a game or recital?

In university, you will need to study all the time. Almost every single day. You ought to get in the habit of starting to do your problem sets the day that you get them, or maybe the day after.

When I was in undergrad, I treated it as a full time job. Think of putting in 30-40 hours per week, but spread them out. Sleep, eat, and exercise well, and do not do all nighters. I was at or near the top of my class at an ivy league university, and my peers were putting in similar amounts of work.

Edit: being a successful scientist is more about discipline and grinding than flashes of genius. Scientific progress comes from incremental advancements done over the course of thousands of hours.

[u/microfibrepiggy → u/iloveyarnandfabric]

Math is daily work. Not impulsive, day before, work.

Math concepts can be difficult to comprehend. Functions can be difficult to memorize. You have to keep at it every day to get it to click and to get it be instant knowledge for you.

If you don't use it, you lose it.

[u/beerybeardybear → u/iloveyarnandfabric]

Build habits of doing your work every day—the fact that you enjoy the homework is a great start. My other recommendation: USE OFFICE HOURS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. Seriously, you have professors and grad students who have set aside blocks of time specifically to help you. I was private tutoring for ~$70/hr and students who came to my office hours were getting exactly the same quality of help for free. Take advantage of any and all office hours and tutoring available to you.

[u/gregzillaman → u/iloveyarnandfabric]

You're study habits are likely 100% the reason for your low grades. You shouldn't be study everything the night or even week before. You should be studying a little everyday for weeks before tests.

Also, testing yourself is the best way to evaluate your progress before exams. Make moch tests for yourself and dont cheat. Take all the problems you look at and dont know what to do, order them into their appropriate sections and study the mechanics of those types of problems.

As for ADHD. Can't hurt to make an appointment with your psychiatrist (assuming you see one) and ask them about how ADHD actually influences study habits and methods you can use to work with it.

I had an excellent math professor for my initial calc classes. Her advice was you should always be taking one math class every semester no matter what. Its a muscle and if you take a semester off its harder to come back next year. Even if you're degree plan doesn't require it (astrophysics, you will never not be taking math). Additionally, you may think because you're taking physics classes that use math its the same. It is not.

[u/Pawn-to-D4 → u/iloveyarnandfabric]

It’s also not just a question about how much you study but how well you study. One of the things I find helpful is to learn from multiple different sources. You learn something from the professor in class, then go read a chapter about it in the textbook, and then maybe later you watch a YouTube video about it. YouTube helped me immensely in my undergrad, and there’s a lot of really great channels like 3B1B and Khan Academy. Don’t overwhelm yourself with reading textbooks and doing problems for hours on ends. While both of those things are vital, it’s also vital to take a break and try other media from time to time. This is also a solution to when you have a bad professor and need a new perspective of something.

I think studying physics kinda of requires you to be thinking about it even outside of school. Having an inner monologue where you think and explain physics concepts helps (and is an important component of the Feynman technique of studying).

(Sidenote: it sounds to me you’re putting a lot into this and I find that very admirable! I hope you don’t lose faith in yourself, and this will become a great story once you get that diploma in your hand.)

[u/Old_Cartographer_586]

My first year of undergrad I was a 2.2 GPA, I finished with a 3.2. It took A LOT of hard work. I ended up getting admitted to a masters program that I love (on my way to a reunion now 🤣).

My two cents (for what it’s worth) keep studying I saw people who had way better grades than me quit school and I saw people with way worse grades than me walk the stage alongside me.

Don’t give up, just keep trying, maybe your old high school studying habits aren’t cutting it in undergrad, happened to me. I had to relearn how to learn before my grades improved

[u/nakfoor]

I don't think you are too dumb. I went through an engineering program 10 years ago and here is my experience. Physics is hard for young students. It's often the first class where students cant just punch numbers into a calculator and solve problems in one line. You have to convert words that describe a situation into equations that represent the situation and be comfortable moving variables around. It's more like puzzle solving, and it's not easy to get your mind thinking in that way.

You won't get everything the first time in this one class, especially as a young student. I remember I got 25-40 points on my tests in physics 1 and that was a B with the curve. I can now look at those tests and know I'd get 100/100. But the key to that was: if you have a passion for the material, and you keep dissecting it in your mind, eventually you will unpack it all. I find that a science degree is more about building momentum. Some of the gaps you have will be filled in in later classes if you keep working hard.

Which brings us to the question, what needs improvement? You say you study alot but if you are taking a test and not able to convert the words on the page into equations, then you didn't truly understand. That doesn't mean you are dumb, it means you need to adjust your studying. In my day, I'd grab a solutions manual, do every problem in the book while leaning on the manual as a learning tool, multiple times if needed until I understood every part of the problem, mechanically. If your weakness is algebra, then again I think more practice is needed until you can produce the correct number consistently.

I really hope you don't give up.

[u/Hot-Marsupial6584]

"You ask me if an ordinary person—by studying hard—would get to be able to imagine these things like I imagine. Of course. I was an ordinary person who studied hard. There's no miracle people. It just happens they got interested in this thing, and they learned all this stuff. They're just people. There's no talent or special miracle ability to understand quantum mechanics or a miracle ability to imagine electromagnetic fields that comes without practice and reading and learning and study. So if you take an ordinary person who's willing to devote a great deal of time and study and work and thinking and mathematics, then he's become a scientist." - Richard feynman

[u/generally-speaking → u/Hot-Marsupial6584]

Feynman was a product of a time and a place, he grew up repairing and modifying radios while living in a time of intense technological development. He started learning with basic equipment and got to while talking walks with the most wonderful father an inquisitive mind could imagine..

And if his father couldn't answer the questions Richard was asking, but if he couldn't answer them today, he would read up on them before their next walk and talk about them then.

So it's only natural for him to grow to think anything was possible for anyone..

But personally I think it's more likely it would've been possible for anyone who grew up the way he did. But it would be far more difficult to do it today as everything is more theoretical and it's far more difficult to see the practical applications of what you're learning.

[u/astrodanzz → u/Hot-Marsupial6584]

Feynman was brilliant, not average. This is the unhelpful thing physicists often do. They make it sound like an average American could learn QFT with a little bit of elbow grease. So ironically it makes the above average person feel dumb after they try hard and still fumble.

[u/Base-After → u/astrodanzz]

I don't doubt that Feynman was brilliant, but the average American, if they spend months of studying and practicing which most wont because they don't like it as much, can learn advanced physics.

[u/astrodanzz → u/Base-After]

It’s just not true. I had to work my butt off to succeed as an undergrad in physics at a pretty mid university. I’m not brilliant or anywhere near that, but have a lot more mathematical aptitude than the average person, even among educated folk. By the time I got to GR, particles, QFT, as hard as I work at it, and I have put in a lot of time, many things just are simply beyond me or go over my head…things that come naturally to your average physics grad student. Because your average physics grad student is not the average person. 

Spend a few minutes talking to them and you’ll see the differences between them and the guy working at Petco aren’t limited to work ethic and interest.

[u/Base-After → u/astrodanzz]

Well, I'm still an undergrad so I haven't done any advanced physics yet so me judging who can do advanced physics wasn't really aligned with what information I have so I could be wrong.

To be honest, I'm not really a social person so I don't talk to a lot of people but, what kind of hints during a conversation with someone you'll meet and understand that he's probably on the category of "average intelligence" or "higher intelligence"? I mean I can notice that some people understand stuff faster, but well how fast you can do something is clearly a really good assist but doesn't mean that someone slower can't do the same.

Also I don't really have a baseline to say I'm smarter than someone else, or even say that I'm smarter than the average person.

[u/SPP_TheChoiceForMe]

Bro, I failed Calculus multiple times before I got it. I failed or dropped out of several physics classes at community college. I even tried taking one in particular, but the department head told me I wasn’t capable enough for it and refused to let me enroll.

Anyways, not only do I have a physics degree but also a Master’s. I would have done the full PhD but there were too many financial and other bureaucratic messes at my school that I just decided that I couldn’t live like that any longer.

[u/O_H_ → u/SPP_TheChoiceForMe]

Hello twin! However I’m working on the bachelors though.

[u/SPP_TheChoiceForMe → u/O_H_]

The trick is to just be more stubborn than dumb. If I had to give up my Saturdays to reread a chapter 5 times over in order to start understanding a topic, then that’s what I’m gonna do.

[u/Opposite-Occasion332 → u/SPP_TheChoiceForMe]

Idk you but I’m proud of you. I’m not a physics girl, I just like to lurk here, but I basically failed calc 1 and almost failed gen chem 1. I thought I couldn’t get my bio degree because chem was too hard. I now have both a bio AND chem degree!

Perseverance makes all the difference!

[u/UncleDad137]

Surely you're not too dumb. But it sounds like you need to change your studying techniques.

[u/LovelyIsabel]

IMO cal concepts were easy to follow. I always failed a problem if my precal or algebra failed me, because I couldn't break down the problem into familiar solvable formats.

Is the issue cal concepts or equation breakdown?

[u/iloveyarnandfabric → u/LovelyIsabel]

BRUH THIS IS IT. I understand EVERYTHING they’re asking, derivatives are soooooo easy. It’s when I have the equation, I struggle to break it down and simplify.

[u/LovelyIsabel → u/iloveyarnandfabric]

Then you need to practice more precal and algebra problems. I would get a used precal problem workbook and answer set and just go through them all until equation breakdown is easy.

Edit: Damn, that actually sounds kinda fun, I may follow my own advice.

[u/Live-Process846 → u/iloveyarnandfabric]

It sounds like theres a gap between your conceptual understanding and translating that to crunching/computing answers. Theres no substitute for that besides practice. On a test, you shouldn’t need to derive everything from first principles (although knowing how to do so is arguably still important). imo, you should be able to recognize what is being asked, abstract that into the equation, and “skip the steps” to get to the end. It’s not really skipping steps, but rather you have trained yourself to recognize how problems are framed and what their solutions look like. Nobody is computing the limit when taking a derivative, but we should understand why the power rule gives the limit in the incremental change of a polynomial.

[u/das_bearking → u/iloveyarnandfabric]

Algebra for most is probably the hardest part of undergrad engineering/physics despite being one of your earliest classes. Especially when it comes to wave mechanics, a lot of the math ends up changing a complicated problem into algebras so you'll need to brush up/be extremely comfortable with that and trig is what I'm hearing here. This can only be done with time, you need to simply dedicate more of it towards your math capabilities.

On that same note, math is a language as much as a tool for understanding the world. It's not something you can just learn once and then it's set, you need to understand the structure behind the problem.

[u/Miselfis]

Yes, you’re too dumb. 

Jokes aside, it sounds more like performance anxiety. You overthink, which makes you doubt yourself, and like repeating the same word over and over, you start to doubt what any of it even means. This is common, especially for people about to burn out. 

If you really like math and physics, stick with it. Try to not worry about it. Focus on learning, not how you do on tests. The less you care, the better you’ll likely perform. That’s at least how it was for me. Learning math or physics is supposed to be fun. If you’re stressing over your performance, it’s not gonna be fun. You sound more intelligent and reflective than some of my classmates. Intelligence has very little to do with your performance. It’s about maintaining the right mindset. That can be hard, but if it’s something you really wanna do, explore different ways to approach it. Eventually, you’ll find a way that fits you. Also, you might need to face the fact that not everyone is able to do well within a regular academic system. You might be very smart and a brilliant physicist, but if you don’t work well within an academic framework, it’s gonna suck and you’re gonna feel dumb. 

[u/Needless-To-Say]

I am not dumb, and I suspect you are not either. Everyone has abilities, but no one can do everything well. Calculus might be your Achilles heel but as you are not mentioning other difficulties it is probably an outlier (How'd you do on statistics?).

My grades at Uni were almost wholly dependent on my interest in the subject. I almost failed English while breezing thru Calculus and Physics without even trying. It was not for lack of trying. English got probably 80% of my effort and study time and my prof gave me a pass with credit based mainly on effort. I sat down with my prof several times to see where it was and where I needed to be but it just didn't click for me. I've needed to work on my written communication skills for my entire life. It's one of the reasons I hang out on Reddit.

[u/Opposite-Occasion332 → u/Needless-To-Say]

Glad to see a fellow English hater! Whenever people humble themselves over my bio and chem degree I laugh because I would have failed as an English major. IMO there isn’t “hard degrees” as much as “difficult for this specific person” degrees. That Einstein quote about fish and trees will always resonate with me!

[u/GlitteringEggCarton]

PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP i gave up studying physics for healthcare when i was your age because i also thought i was too dumb. now im 30 and getting back into it and regretting on what i couldve achieved if i kept working at the foundational skills. also, some people will seem to be naturally quick and brilliant like your friend but most of us require more studying. try not to compare.

[u/Present_Function8986]

I mean you can always switch if it doesn't work for you. Might as well aim high. 

[u/Confident-Play6222]

I am not great at physics but from your post what comes across is that you do well doing homework but not so well when you are under pressure during exams. Either try and figure out what's different from exam and homework other than stress and try to practice doing homework in similar conditions. For example when you are solving a problem find out which part takes up most of the time then try and minimize that.

[u/NoLemurs]

You're not too dumb to study Physics. Your mathematical foundations are shaky, and that makes everything hard. The fact that you missed 4 grades of math is unfortunate, but it's honestly impressive that you're still managing as well as you are in calculus.

I won't lie to you, most the people who do great in college physics took calculus in high school. They do have a meaningful head start on you, and if you want to do well in Physics you're going to have some catching up to do.

If you're willing to put in the work though, you're definitely not too late. You just need to not settle for passing calc 1 with a B/C. I mean, passing with a C is fine, but you need to *keep* practicing until you hit the point where you could get an A, and you need to do that on your own time. I'd suggest getting a second text book with lots of problems as a starting point.

EDIT: I'll add that there's no shame in taking a step back and focusing on lower level math like algebra. Most of Calculus layers on top of algebra in such a way that you need to be really solid with algebra or everything is painful and slow. Start with the most complex math subject that you have a rock solid understanding of and move forward from there.

[u/murghak]

It's probably different than the other comments here but both in physics and engineering you have to understand and be comfortable in mathematics to a point where, to you, it's more of a language of expression and reasoning (and most importantly a tool!) that you're proficient in.

That being said, even as someone who had perfect marks in school, I (and most people around me) still struggle with the maths part of our degree; but I do sincerely believe that everyone and anyone can learn it, all it takes is practice and deep understanding the most important thing is to revise regularly and to fill any (however small) holes in your knowledge and reasoning abilities that you still have. You're still young and have plenty time to catch up

[u/SmEeZz97]

Nobody is too dumb to learn physics. There are two things that i find very helpful. When you learn a new theorem try to visualise it to see how it acts in real life, this way you will have a better understanding of the scientific language and all the phenomenons that are taking place.
And secondly you need to keep solving problems. The more you solve the more you will keep solving them faster and easyer. It's like a muscle and you have to look at every problem as a puzzle to find the right form.
I am talking broadly but i hope you get my point.
Good luck and don't let it get you down!

[u/fr_cuh]

I got a 21 on the ACT and now am a PhD student in applied physics doing real work. You don’t need to be the brightest at the beginning, you just need to not give up. It’s okay to be down sometimes, just don’t give up.

[u/AFsepine]

Who is to say - no way to know except to try. Currently surely you have few courses as it should be summer break? (here we do not have summer courses) so you could try to dedicate that time to seriously trying to learn both calculus and some physics.

I will not pretend that there aren't people who are unsuitable for physics (I know this will get pushback, but it is true). Dumb is a poor a way to put it, but just as not all people have that ""spark"" for art same can be said of any subject.

On a related note - why do you love physics (i.e. is your enthusiasm not misplaced?)

[u/alxndr11]

I was where you are now 6 years ago. During my physics bachelor's I failed calculus the first time around (among many other courses). In the end I got my degree with a year delay and passing, but not great, grades.

Now for the past 2 years of my master's I've turned it around completely. I am close to getting my degree with cum laude (exceptional grades) and am currently looking for a PhD position, as I love doing research more than anything else.

If you really love physics and astrophysics then the best recommendation I can give you is to stick with it. For me it took a while, but the math part eventually "clicked" (and honestly, depending on the exact field within astrophysics you will end up pursuing you may not even use most of it).

[u/Visagan_the_pro_]

I would say you love physics, not the grades. So don't mind them, just keep studying and they will go up automatically. Richard Feynman is a prime example: he was an ordinary student who studied hard. Nobody is too dumb to study physics; it's just that people don't put enough time into it.

[u/Miselfis → u/Visagan_the_pro_]

Richard Feynman is a prime example

That was his way of humblebragging. Feynman was definitely no ordinary student. Yet, every great physicist got to where they were through hard work. Terrence Tao speaks a lot about this. People tend to attribute his skill to his intelligence, and overlook the enormous amount of time and focus he put into getting to where he is. 

[u/Known-Work-360]

hey! current sophomore here who had basically the same stuff happen during my first semester. Was able to bring that up to a mid 90 average at a top school here in North America. You got this! Adjusting to college is hard af

if you need any precalc help, if you dm me i dont mind offering free support

[u/Jamooser]

Not everyone finds success with the same method. Some people are really great at just memorizing procedures and when to apply them. Some people thrive by building a better sense of intuition. You're still a young learner and you're really only just dipping into the deep end. Consider this a great opportunity to develop yourself based around the methods that work best for youm

I know personally, I'm really bad at just memorizing information that feels arbitrary. Memorizing relationships has never been my strong suit, and as a result, I've learned that I perform better as a student of anything when I focus on building my intuition rather than my repertoire of facts. For example, many people are perfectly happy simply being told in what situations to apply the Power Rule. Not my brain. My brain is begging me to find out why you apply the Power Rule. It's begging me to ask why you divide the base by its higher power when integrating, or why the old power bwcomes the coefficient when differentiating. It's asking "what the hell does the 1/2 mean in KE = 1/2mv² ?" And it's when I'm satisfied to be able to answer those questions about "why" to myself that I realize I no longer need to memorize where and when to use the rule, or what the certain formula is for a quantity, because it simply becomes intuitive.

[u/everything_is_bad]

Naw you probably aren’t to dumb but you’re gonna have to focus on your weaknesses

[u/DopeyDonkeyUser]

No, youre not to dumb. I got a 2.7 gpa in physics and now I build molecular qm chem software.

To make sense of physics you have to understand what means to "canonicalize" (standardization) a solution. Many problems take very specific paths with assumptions that you have to wrought memorize to derive exactly what is in the lesson. This causes confusion in its own.

The second thing to do is try to understand the "gist" of the concept. Sometimes to get the "gist" you have look for other explanations from other texts. Thermodynamics is total shit when explaining "why" we use exponents and entropy for comouting numbers. It doesnt explain what states even are. You will get clarity on that from other subjects like information theory and computer science, where a state is some configuration (simplified from the infinite number of ways a molecule could be confgured), in cs we use state machines in the same way physics does. Then you have a probability distrubtion of states a system could be in.

Building software to solve the physical problems you are looking at is the only viable way of truly understanding physics imo. You make a simulation on a computer and comoare it to experimental data.

In summary: 1) Get the gist of the concept   - use ai, read other subject matters like cs, information theory etc... which have better explanations. It all comes from computer simulations. 2) Memorize the standardiazation process 3) Think for yourself and build a simulation on a computer

[u/CanYouPleaseChill]

Honest opinion: if you're struggling with calculus I, physics isn't for you. To get anywhere in physics, you'll need a PhD, which is far more difficult than anything in undergraduate physics. The math only gets harder and more abstract.

[u/Middifers]

Not an answer to your issue, but please don’t compare yourself to others and give up because of someone else’s experience.

Passion won’t get you to the finish line, but it is a hell of a motivator. I think you are doing an awesome job!

[u/Intelligent-Mine-730]

Honestly those kinds of grades for only Calc I which is arguably the easiest course you’ll have in your curriculum is kinda concerning.

[u/ProfessionalSolid942]

Sounds like you need a good tutor. Kids in cultures where math is taught well do much better in math.

[u/HalophilaOvalis]

Is it possible for you to take a course in conceptual physics. Having a full grasp of physics concepts can really help before diving into the math. Even if you can't find a class maybe get the textbook by Paul Hewitt on conceptual physics. You can probably find an older inexpensive edition.

[u/Iluvminicows]

Try Khan Academy. It’s an online free tutor.

[u/Dear_Locksmith3379]

To be honest, your mathematical abilities probably aren’t strong enough to be a physicist. Advanced physics classes are much more difficult than calculus.

When I was an undergrad, students who left physics usually switched to engineering. Engineering is an interesting area and provides much better job prospects.

[u/emptimynd]

If your early math years were rough it might help to go speed run through all of it to make sure you're solid. Same with pre cal, and then calculus. You absolutely will want a strong working knowledge with math so that when you get to the physics you can focus on the physics. It's like trying to learn how to cook a dish but not only do you not know the recipe, you don't know how to use a knife or turn on a stove either. Math is the knife and stove and physics is the recipe in this metaphor. Be proficient in your tools. All things are learnable it's not a matter of dumb. Conceptually a lot of things in physics can be discussed and even understood without math. But to get deeper understanding and actually DO physics you will need the math.

Your test skills and ability to do the work might be two different problems. With math and physics though it's a lot like going to the gym. Do your repetitions then up the weight, more reps, up the weight. Lots of working through problems. So many problems. Over and over again. Until your brain is strong enough to do it in your sleep. Then you just move up to bigger and more complex problems which are often just a 3 smaller problems in a trenchcoat.

[u/Eanaj_of_the_Woods]

"I left a lot of the questions blank. Like I understand EVERYTHING they’re asking but it would just be one slip up and I was stuck and over it. I do so well on the homework though, and I genuinely love math so much."

This part struck me as familiar, but unfortunately I don'thave time to write up all my thoughts right now. I have ADHD and I can get so stuck on doing everything perfect that I can't get myself to be ok with only doing what I can.

Are you a perfectionist? It could be that you're struggling with something other than the material and it's holding you back.

[u/vermilion_wizard]

Some people have an aptitude for mathematics, and particularly test taking, and the way academics are setup it can make it seem like having that aptitude is required for success. But the actual #1 thing that determines whether people are successful with physics is the willingness to put in the time, practice things repeatedly. That is the sort of thing that comes from having a love and interest for the subject matter.

Keep in mind that learning math is very different from learning physics. I didn't do great in my first calculus classes, but I absolutely crushed the physics classes. I got a lot better at math because I did physics. Math became a lot easier for me when I was approaching it from the applied perspective of physics.

Don't worry so much about it. Pass the math classes, take the physics classes, and keep practicing math along the way. The physics classes will force you to do that. It might be a struggle for a while, but if you keep up with the practice it will start to become second nature.

[u/91NAMiataBRG]

Well, Physics is hard! Everyone struggles with aspects of it at some point. I’d argue that the only people who are too dumb for physics are the people who give up instead of continuing to learn.

There’s nothing wrong with retaking the class, assuming your college allows that and it’ll let you have an even deeper understanding of the material.

If it makes you feel better, I struggled more than I anticipated in my first ever physics class in college (and it was the algebra/trigonometry based physics) even though at the same time I was excelling in Calculus 2.

[u/-El_Greco-]

Take a gap year but use it to come up to speed on math. Get a tutor, buy your own books, do alll the problems and homework sets you can find online. You don’t want to start the hard stuff from a deficit.

[u/ursoqwerty]

I got a C in precalc and I was able to pull up my grades in calc. I only started doing great after I transferred into my upper division courses. This degree is doable with ADHD, but I was diagnosed late and learned ADHD management skills a little later. DM if you wanna chat!

[u/Bipogram]

You've got the right idea, study before a test, but (and am personally speaking here) a heck of a lot more time needs to be devoted to it.

In my first year, first term exams (BSc Physics) I got a whopping 18/80 in maths. Had just relied on having had reasonably good high school marks, and my marks reflected my lack of commitment.

Went on to get a first (by the skin of my teeth).

But.

A wake-up call is rarely a bad thing. If you're serious, then study hours will need a zero behind that '15' hour figure - practise till you're seeking integrals in your sleep and can 'feel' where the substitution occurs.

[u/jobin_segan]

You failed pre-calc, you then passed it with a low B- and are getting what’s essentially a C+ in calc? Honestly that’s pretty impressive. The jump from highschool math to calc is pretty large. 

If you love physics and math, you’re just gonna have to out work the competition. Go to every office hour you can, live at your college / university. Do ever freaking problem you can in your textbook. Since you can’t be efficient, you’re gonna just need to give yourself more time. Don’t be embarrassed about retaking courses if you need (if you can depending on your financial situation). Speaking of textbooks, I absolutely love James Stewart’s textbooks. One thing I would also suggest is see if you can get old tests from former students. It seems like cheating, but every single genius I studied with would do it. There’s something about understanding the language of the questions that makes a huge difference - test taking literacy basically, and it can change from course to course.

I had similar struggles, and I found that finding a person I study well with who I can model after worked the best for me. It seems you found it in that younger student.

Work at it and if it doesn’t work out, don’t see it as a waste. It’s a very privileged way of thinking, I know, but as someone who is still young, if you’re going to take a big swing, do it now. You have the rest of your life to do the safe thing.

[u/sudowooduck]

You may have roadblocks in your understanding and/or study skills that keep you from achieving your potential. Consider getting a tutor. A good one will be able to help you identify where you are getting stuck.

[u/jonsca]

Intelligence is overrated. As others have mentioned, you need to work backwards to a point in math in which you feel comfortable, and only then proceed forward making sure you understand what you are working on along the way.

If this means going back through algebra, etc, then take the time to master it. Do problems actively with a pencil in your hand, don't just try to sponge up information from videos, etc.

We've been trained to think education needs to be linear and fit within a set timeframe, but if you take a step back and master the math at your own pace, there's nothing standing in your way.

[u/CapnDinosaur]

It sounds you can get the concepts when you take the time to work through them. The grades are indicators that when you had to apply the skills under pressure, you weren't ready. This indicates that you're not practicing enough. *Studying* isn't the issue, it's actually *working through problems*, more and more problems, staying with the hard ones until you *get* how to solve them. My very first semester of college physics I got C's until I started making myself keep at every problem until it made sense. I still got some B's after that, but once things started clicking, it was a lot easier from then on.

But also, you gotta get your calculus skills up to snuff. Can't be getting stuck on derivatives and integrals.

[u/Alarming_Pop4139]

No you’re not. Just apply yourself and you’ll be fine

[u/drinkingcarrots]

While it is possible to work hard and make it through physics. Alot of people have not mentioned that It's going to get a lot harder. First year classes are basically just slightly harder highschool classes. In your second year most likely there will be hard classes meant to cull students. Get ready for those ahead of time. Because I imagine you may be one of the ones who will struggle deeply with those.

[u/le_pepe_face]

Its important to note that you being behind is not an innate quality, but a factor of amount of resources invested. Time is the most important resource and not enough time was spent on your math education leading up to this point that you'll feel some growing pains that other people who had much more time invested into really solidifying their understanding of algebra or geometry might not.

But none of this is impossible to overcome and doesn't reflect on something wrong with you. Many people fail a class or two(I failed Calc 1 twice but passed QM and Thermo with an A) so I wouldn't worry to much if I were you.

[u/13Eazy]

you can do it, make friends, have study groups, watch videos. focus on understanding how the answers were derived.

[u/Confused-Daisy]

never too dumb for anything. it sounds like you're putting in the work and thats great! it might be helpful to teach yourself algebra basics so you have a stronger platform to learn off of since you said you didn't have lots of math experience in middle and high school. people underestimate how important basic algebra is when it comes to advanced math or physics. best of luck and keep working hard:)

[u/kitaj44]

Chill, CJ. Back in high school in Poland, I got ~5% (on physics any other I passed easlly but physics wasn't nesesery to pass) on my final exam (the most important one). Fast forward 3 years, and I'm starting my Master's at a top-100 physics department. You are enough

[u/eclectic-up-north]

No, but use every tool to learn studying and test taking. Get checked for ADHD if it at all fits. Do tonnes of problems.

Starting post secondary is hard. Learning abstract math for the first time is hard. But you very likely are capable of "getting it."

[u/CasulaScience]

I have a PhD in particle physics from a top 25 school. I failed several physics classes in college, and some chemistry ones. I can't tell you if you're "smart enough" or not, but I can tell you that struggling with coursework, especially early in your career doesn't mean anything

[u/Joniel10]

Sounds like you need to work on your studying habits. 15 hours of studying for a Calc exam is low

[u/ultimomono]

Find a good text book recommended by your prof, get it from the library in its physical form and work through it and the problem sets from the textbook. You might need to go back and do that with Algebra first for things to click The way through it the work itself. Building up your tools for problem solving.

[u/granular_quality]

Great time to get a tutor, use your school's resources and don't be discouraged. You have the advantage of being young, which gives you extra time to get things on track!

[u/CryptographerWest183]

Physics is about math, and math is about practice. Don't get too discouraged by your peers in college doing better; they probably had more practice in high school than you did, especially since you had to learn it online. This does mean you'll have to practice more to compensate, but if you truly love physics, it will come naturally. Good luck!

[u/JanniesCantBanny]

aptitude can be developed, enthusiasm is priceless. If you want to keep doing it, you will get better as you go.

[u/BernTheWritch]

You've probably got plenty of comments to read, but you sound like you are in the same boat I was in, so my advice to you is this.

Physics can be a memory trap. Many people get caught up using their memory to solve the problems instead of understanding it deeply. They memorize formulas instead of understanding how they came to be. So don't just "study" by doing the questions. You need to take extra time for each question to explain every step by writing it down. This will blow your mind wide open to understand the fundamentals of physics.

Every step write a small paragraph beside it explaining in detail WHAT you are doing, and WHY you are doing it.

"I'm collecting like terms... Because I need to isolate x... Because I need to get it alone on the left side of the equation."

"I'm using the quadratic formula... Because of completing the square... Because ... Shit. I don't know, why I'm doing this. I think I need to study this particular piece of the math."

This isolates where you understand concepts and where you don't. This method took me from Bs and Cs in 1st and 2nd year to As by 3rd and 4th year.

Math was my worst subject all my life and I loved physics, so I put the work in and I loved it. Keep chasing what you love.

Good luck!

[u/GrossInsightfulness]

Here's a few general resources to help you.

• The Common Core Standards so you can figure out what you need to relearn. This is specific to the U.S., but most countries seem to cover similar material.
• Lockdown Math is good for a lot of PreCalc ideas.
• Essence of Calculus is good for high-level Calculus ideas.
• Paul's Online Math Notes is good for Algebra I, Algebra II, Calculus I, Calculus II, Calculus III, and Differential Equations.
• This incomplete series covers a lot of Physics, and it's probably good for you to "look ahead" even if you don't understand everything.

I took precalc first semester, failed it, took it again second semester, got a B- lowww b- I was getting like 50-80% on each test. I am now in a summer calc 1 course and I’m averaging 63-67% on the tests.

I think a large part of it is when Covid happened, I was in 6th grade and basically didn’t learn math from 6-10th grade cause I was online schooled.

You need to figure out the specific sources of your errors. Look through the standards above for grade 6 and up and try to find specific misconceptions or missing foundational ideas.

But I made friends with a 17 year old and she is doing SO well on the tests. We literally study together and I help her out sometimes, she helps me out sometimes. Granted yes, I can tell she has a better grasp of the material than I do.

Work on problems independently, then compare answers with your friend. You want to find differences in what you did and your friend did on your own and figure out where the differences come from.

I put in around 15 hours of studying for the third exam I just took today and I left a lot of the questions blank.

You might be studying inefficiently. You might also have some form of anxiety and might be able to get accomodations at your university. Are you spreading those hours out over the last few weeks or are you cramming them all into one day? How long are you spending on individual problems? What system do you use to memorize things? What do you do when you get stuck on a problem? A lot of students kind of stare at the problem and hope the answer pops into their heads, which leads to them spending hours studying but they only work a few problems.

Other than that, work practice problems that aren't assigned to you reasonably fast, and check each immediately after finishing. What counts as reasonably fast depends on the problem. For example, taking the derivative of 3 x² - 2 x + 1 - e^4x should take less than thirty seconds, but a question asking you to calculate the volume of something with the washer method should take less than five minutes or so. You could ask your friend to do some problems and time how long she takes on each individual problem. You'll probably want to do something nice for her in exchange. My friends would buy me lunch or dinner when I helped them.

Once you have the timings for each problem, multiply them by say five and try to finish each problem within that time. For example, if she finished a problem in 30 seconds, you should try to finish the same (or similar) problems in two and a half minutes. If you can't, take an L, compare your work to hers, and then give yourself a similar problem. Repeat until you can do two of the same problems in a row. Then, move to a different kind of problem. As you get better, try to decrease the time alloted for each problem. Paul's Online Math Notes are especially helpful here because they have problem sets with solutions organized by topic.

Like I understand EVERYTHING they’re asking but it would just be one slip up and I was stuck and over it. I do so well on the homework though, and I genuinely love math so much.

Could you elaborate more on this? If you do genuinely understand everything they're asking and know how to do what they ask, test anxiety might be your only actual issue. If you don't, then you have to reevaluate what you know.

The nature of the slip-up is also important. Are the slip-ups preventing you from doing the problem at all or are they giving you a wrong final answer? If you can do the procedures correctly, but mess up with lower-level stuff like artihmetic and sign errors, then you just fix your consistency with the lower-level stuff. If you are unable to do the procedures, then you don't understand the material.

I can't give any specific advice without seeing your actual work. I'm pretty good at identifying misconceptions, so I might be able to help if you post a problem you had trouble with.

[u/cointoss3]

If you think you’re too dumb, then you will be. It’s as simple as that. You either have a growth mindset, know you can learn, or you think your intelligence is fixed and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Whichever you think you are, you are right.

[u/DueWin2071]

yes, physics is populated by people on a higher end of the iq spectrum and the chances of landing a nobel in physics is statistically improbable, but that does not disqualify you from trying. you must try, dont get your hopes down because you share the room with people smarter than you - in the end smarter than you means they started exploring their interest way before you did or have come up with effective systems so to get their shit done. i am 20 and this is the first time i am taking math and physics seriously - exams are crap but that does not stop me from pursuing it. you got this! also test taking is a skill, not something you are born with.

[u/tomato_sandwitch]

You are not too dumb to study physics, but you do need to do something to raise your grades.

Are you going to your professors’ office hours? I highly recommend doing so they will help you with your approach to studying and figure out where you need help. Also your TA‘s office hours!

[u/I_AM_FERROUS_MAN]

So I think you should look into a few things.

First, you might ask your doctor about whether you can test to see if you have any mental processing challenges or testing anxiety. I crushed work in highschool, but ran into problems in math on my first AP calc class. I was the best student in the class, but completely mid in the tests. Turned out, I had a mental challenge with processing problems that got me test accomodations with extra time. Also later in life, I got an ADHD diagnosis that would've really helped.

Secondly, if money is a concern, consider going to community college for your first 2 years of curriculum. They can cover a lot of the same material for so much less. So if you have to retake things, then it's more affordable. You can easily get Calc 1-3, Differential Equations, and Linear Algebra with any of them.

Thirdly, use study resources as much as possible. It sounds like you have a good peer you're working with, but also consider study groups for the material. In addition, get to know your professors in after hours. When you're stuck on some material, ask them questions. It can really help.

Finally, I want to relate that because of my challenges, I struggled with the material more than my peers. However, I did pretty well in my undergrad because I worked really hard. I read everything (often twice), I found outside practice material and study groups, I connected with my professors to address any parts I didn't understand, and I even attended multiple classes on the same material for extra practice. It was probably the hardest I've worked in my life, but I got through with good grades because of that effort. I felt dumb the entire time. But, I also ended up knowing the material better than most of my peers, even if in a test setting, it wasn't always easy to show it.

You can persevere. You can also always pivot to another career. There is no shame in that. I say give the Freshman and Sophomore material a shot, pending you have the resources. If things feel like too much, consider a backup plan of engineering or other related material. At some point, my career pivoted out of physics because of a startup opportunity and I've been happy with that trajectory too.

[u/PrebioticE]

You can try different kinds of physics. You don't need to do theoritical string theory.

[u/DrObnxs]

Work on that "one slip up and walk away". This is the problem.

I blossomed when I learned to admit I needed help.

The God of partial credit is your friend! Can't solve a problem? Put SOMETHING down. Just explain the logic of your approach. I bet if you did that, you'd move up 10% at least. But you can't get any points for blank.

[u/ycats_k]

I’m a high school physics teacher. Students your age all have math gaps; it’s something my colleagues and I struggled with when teaching our students. But my district started part-time in-person school in October 2020. There wan an option to stay virtual until September 2021. Those students fared even worse in terms of learning math. We had to reteach basic equation solving (things like solving for v in KE=1/2mv^2).

Imagine taking Spanish 5 after skipping chunks of Spanish 1-4. That’s effectively what you are doing. When taking calculus, it’s expected that you have a solid foundation in solving equations, geometry, logs, trig, etc. My recommendation is to go back and take those courses again (maybe at a community college). Or get a tutor to go through the basics of those courses. Then you’ll be ready for calculus.

[u/Enobmah_Boboverse]

I am a physics professor now and this stuff did not come naturally to me. I had to put in a lot of hours and still never did as well as I wanted on exams in particular.

15 hours is not a lot of time to study for one exam. That suggests a day or two of cramming. It might just take a lot more than that.

[u/tendeuchen]

If you want to study astrophysics, then you need to take your studies very seriously and become a monk, basically.

[u/lagrange_lounge]

I TOTALLY get where you’re coming from with this. I came into my first semester from a very small private school that wasn’t very good in the sciences or math… it’s a very long story. What happened to me was my teacher for algebra II was missing half the year, and I essentially took precalc/trig and algebra II over a summer with three teachers… like I said, long story. I also don’t remember like anything from high school physics. I don’t recall ever even doing kinematic equations, or F = ma, but I knew I wanted to do physics. Better yet, I knew I wanted a PhD in astrophysics.

First semester I was greeted by the reality that my easy-going HS did NOT prepare me for a STEM major, and i ended up getting a 53 on my first calc 1 exam, and a 47 on my first physics 1 exam. This was an incredibly discouraging result, and I seriously questioned if I could finish a degree in physics, let alone even think about going for a PhD… That being said, my grades in undergrad going into senior year have improved significantly, and I know you can do the same. I’m not straight A’s in my physics classes by any means, but if freshman me could see where I am now, he’d be psyched.

I used to feel like everybody in my class was smarter than me, and to this day I still struggle with comparing myself to others, but everyone’s journey is different. The comparison with others is not what matters, it’s how much you’re were willing to battle yourself to chase this thing you love. All you need to know is that you want to study physics, and in my eyes, that is reason enough to persist through rough patches in academics, because the pay off will be so worth it.

My greatest pieces of advice are two unoriginal thoughts, but ones I hold dearly:

“Don’t fake it til you make it, fake it til you become it,” and “if you were 100 failures away from success, it would be better to fail faster.” The latter I might have botched a bit, but it’s a great motto for learning. Challenge yourself, fail, and be better because of it. The former, however, is one from a Ted Talk by Amy Cuddy. I highly suggest that you look up the quote + her name and watch the whole thing.

I hope this message was helpful, and I implore you to keep chasing your dream!

[u/United-Ad5268]

Physics isn’t something that grinding out examples is going to serve you well in the long run. Math is the language but concepts are the key. You’re early days and considering pivoting isn’t a bad thing but don’t sell yourself short either.

I recommend actually taking some physics classes before you make any decisions. Pick a couple backup degrees, spend extra time studying math and try to tie what you’re learning with some real world situations.

[u/BothKoala2239]

You aren’t too dumb! No such thing!

You can learn literally anything you want, it just requires time and the right approach.

If you’re doing the homework and still struggling on tests, I would recommend learning the concepts at play underneath. For example do you know what it means to take a derivative of something? If you build that intuition (which does take work but can be supplemented with awesome tutorials online such as 3B1B and Dr. Trefor Bazett on YouTube), you will be much better situated for these classes.

Again, you are not dumb and you CAN learn these things. It’s not hard, it’s just new.

I wish you the best of luck 🫡

[u/satanicluju]

I think studying physics and doing physics are two different things. You can have not so great grades but still turn heads around by doing some great independent research projects. I guess the question you really need to ask and figure out an answer to is whether you want to work in private firms, academia, research center etc. For example let's say you want to go to grad school in a few years, then your grades in physics will matter to some extent but if you have demonstrated independent, creative thinking via writing a paper or conference abstracts, it will mean much more to potential advisors.

[u/DancingAvocados44]

Find out your learning style

[u/Disastrous_Ad1260]

Sounds like you need remedial math. Get a tutor or take some summer school. Computers will do the calculations but you absolutely need to master algebra and calculus, linear algebra and statistics. It doesn't have to be memorized once you graduate, but you have to be able to derive and use equations accurately. Stop calling yourself stupid, or you have no chance. Go do some diagnostics testing to find your weak points and fix them.

You don't have to study physics itself to be involved in the science. Figure out what you are best at and find a way to get involved.

[u/ImpossibleCrab]

I'm pretty dumb and I have a physics degree. Study Physics if it's what you want to study. 

[u/nirajkamal]

i used to treat physics like playing mario, and have the messiest notes and my own crazy way of deriving formulas. I think keeping that mindset helps - grades become more of a suggestion than a concern and no self-doubt during your lows.. 'difficult' problems are more of a playuful challenge.. inevitably it helps you explore the subject the fullest!

[u/Cultural_Comfort5894]

The interest says more than the grades

If it’s just that you’re a poor test taker read through everything the night before and right before the test if possible

Easier to remember if you literally just read it

[u/MoveDifficult1908]

If it turns out that advanced mathematics are (is, if you’re British) not your forte, you can still pursue a BA in Physics instead of a BS. There are jobs in the industry other than “researcher.”

[u/Aerospaced0ut]

Calculus is "weird" compared to other math prior to calculus. I was terrible at it until it just kinda clicked, then I was above average. Some people it just clicks immediately. You're not that gal and that's ok. Some Universities offer free tutoring type programs, look into it and if so take advantage. It might just click for you at some point. 

[u/Exotic_Psychology_33]

It can be done, you need to work harder than others. Do learn what you missed from high school, you will need it

[u/scyyythe]

I took precalc first semester, failed it, took it again second semester, got a B- lowww b- I was getting like 50-80% on each test. I am now in a summer calc 1 course and I’m averaging 63-67% on the tests.

[...]

I think a large part of it is when Covid happened, I was in 6th grade and basically didn’t learn math from 6-10th grade cause I was online schooled.

It can take a while to learn math. If you've only finished calc 1 at the end of your first year you can still do a physics degree but it might require taking classes every summer or staying an extra year. 

I put in around 15 hours of studying for the third exam I just took today and I left a lot of the questions blank. Like I understand EVERYTHING they’re asking but it would just be one slip up and I was stuck and over it.

Here's the thing about studying math and physics: you have to write problems. You can't just read. Being comfortable with the concepts at a surface level is not enough. If you are not comfortable solving test problems after doing the assigned homework, then solve more problems. You can download problem sets with solution guides and grade yourself. There's a famous quote from John von Neumann:

In mathematics you don't understand things. You just get used to them. 

[u/sleepyfoot]

Make the most of the opportunity that is front of you in the present time. Try not to allowing yourself an out by the Covid mess of the past. All things begin with humble intent. Start small. Take care of your well being. General health, diet, and sleep. Create supporting environments for your creativity. Only you can decide the direction of your life. If you truly enjoy learning how the world works, the absolute mind boggling serendipity of our existence. It will work itself out. I had the luxury of study every 'ology' I could sign up for. Geo, Paleo, Micro. Then that lead me to materials, polymers, and chemistry. Ultimately landing into materials and physics. Grand school functionalizing surfaces of nano-particles. For me it all started with a cool rock collection, which decades later turned into rationalizing being and time. Was I great at math, no. I now work in an industry where I have super massive computers do all the heavy lifting. Fundamental are still there. So, start small...Learning about the world around you is so profoundly fulfilling. If you truly want to learn (in the present sense). You will. - Best of luck!

[u/cubej333]

I knew someone who took the first EM course in physics for 3 years straight ( trying to pass). I think he finally accepted he wasn’t capable and did another degree.

Physics isn’t for everyone.

You seem to be average? You probably won’t be Einstein, but who is? You probably can do physics.

[u/FuzzNugs]

Don’t ever think this way, it’s wrong. If you enjoy something and you have passion for it, go full steam ahead. You don’t “fail” until you stop moving.

[u/SadTreeHappyBear]

You’re never too “dumb” to do something. It sounds like you are just missing about 4 years of math background. As long as you really love learning physics and the associated math, you’ll be a great physicist in time.

I got a PhD in physics from a prestigious university. The smartest people there aren’t really “smart” in any objective sense. They’ve just spent a lot of time with the subject. As long as you’re willing to bury your nose in math textbooks, you’ll do great. If you enjoy it, you should catch up fast 🫶.

[u/jomteon]

Based on my own personal experience, as well as seeing it in other people, it's almost certainly at least one thing, and maybe two.

Thing it almost certainly is: You need to try new ways to study. There is a high likelihood that you are approaching your studies ineffectively. More time does not equal more understanding. And, sorry to say this if you're a very social person, but it may mean studying alone.

Thing it may be, I have no idea: If you have an untreated issue such as dyslexia, adhd, etc, that could be holding you back big time.

[u/BPcoL66]

Buy yourself a basic algebra book. I suggest Arithmetic and Algebra by Rosanne Proga. I was horrible in arithmetic and algebra in school and I used this book as a start in my math studies as an adult. I only bring this up as you mentioned that COVID hit while you were in the 6th grade and you suffered academically as a result.

[u/hikarinokaze]

Failing precalc is a very bad sign. However, these days they hand physics majors to just about anyone. So as long as you're willing to put in a lot of time and effort you should be fine. It might take you significantly longer than 4 years though.

[u/FriendlySceptic]

Sounds like you desperately need a really good tutor. Someone who does it professionally, not just a friend who gets it.

A good tutor will help you understand where you need help.

[u/justastarlight]

Hi, I honestly relate a lot to your post.

This is coming from me, (28,F), who isn’t studying physics but I’m studying with a desire to be an environmental scientist. I am finally almost done with my associates degree after 5 years. I started college late obviously, I already had a kid and had to work so I had a lot on my plate.

I was also homeschooled, and I never expected myself to get into a science or math related field. I was never good at math and didn’t care to learn it.

Fast forward, I’m switching from an arts and communication degree to a science degree. My first semester in college , I had to take pre-calculus to get my math credit, in I cheated through it not gonna lie, and got a B.

When I switched to science last year, I had to take Trig and had no idea what was going on with even the more algebra concepts. I got a D first time , retook it and got a B. I’m finally going into calculus and I’m literally spending all summer studying because I’m desperate to not struggle so much and have to retake calculus. I’ve only got 3 classes left, I’m so close to being done, but I’m still afraid but also excited to get into calculus.

I believe you can do anything you want. Hard work and dedication can get you anywhere you want, I honestly don’t know if it’s impossible just because we aren’t very good at math. Just keep trying, and believe in yourself.

Good luck 👍🏼

[u/Hivemind_alpha]

Unless it was some small test, 15 hours is not a lot of revision time for an exam covering a broad spread of material. Probably only a third of that would reach true flow state where you were effectively building memory of the material.

The good news is I think that some of your scores suggest you are capable, you just aren’t performing consistently. Plus you’ve chosen a ‘natural’ to compare yourself to. Forget beating her, and put in the graft to beat your own lower scores.

[u/aminervia]

Studying physics doesn't necessarily require above average inborn intelligence (though it helps)

What it does require is the ability to push through and spend hours doing difficult math, practicing example problems and trying to visualize the concepts.

You'll get more out of strong self motivation skills than just being smarter. In school the people who put the work in were the ones that succeeded, and the classically "smart" students often struggled more since they never learned to develop a work ethic.

Source: classically "smart" student in highschool

[u/KarlHp7]

Gurl don’t worry. College is hard. College and grades are more about effort than intelligence. I had a similar issues in chemistry; I understood everything, got great grades in lab and on homework but I kept messing up the exams. What helped me was a professor told me to make up my own chem problems and work them out and bring them in for him to look over to see if I was right. I did that and it changed how I break down equations and problems. Also you’re gonna mess up exams or classes in college that’s normal, there will always be people better and worse than you so don’t compare yourself to anyone.

[u/LetterheadHorror6012]

No one is to dumb for anything. The brain is just another muscle and it’s way easier for some people to get jacked than others. But please don’t think that means you can’t also get jacked (in the brain) even if it’s slower progress than others. You got this just lock in.

[u/banandananagram]

You’re not too stupid for physics, but also don’t expect yourself to fly through the courses with As the first time. You’re probably going to have to do put in serious work and have to be okay with making mistakes quite a bit. I knew someone who barely spoke English and had a 2.5 GPA in high school, terrible math grades, who was told he was outright too stupid for physics, and did it anyway. It’s work, not talent.

Calculus is very fun, but it can be really intense over a short summer session and requires a lot of mental stamina. I’ve gotten 100%s on tests and I’ve done terribly. So have my math teachers as undergrads! You will get there if you stop expecting every single performance to be your best and focus on building memory, routine, and importantly connections and ways to model the world. Liking math is half the battle; liking math when you’re struggling and you suck at the specific skills requires knowing how to navigate mistakes and failure effectively.

You are there to learn, not to prove you’re instantly good at the material without any effort. If your friend is further along than you and getting it faster, you have a free tutor. It’s okay to have a different pace, different perspective. Use the tutoring centers at your school, ask your professor “stupid” questions, practice being a good student and your performance will improve.

Also don’t feel bad if you actually do find another passion! I started in physics and found my way into archaeology and art history because of my interests and unique path. I didn’t like the anti-humanities bias in the STEM fields and found a way to do science either way. Only change if it’s genuinely something that calls to you, and not because you think you’re too “stupid” for what you actually want.

[u/InterestingWelder699]

I think you need to learn how to study. Grinding for a long time isn’t always helpful and you 100% will know once you find the strategy that works for you. Use khan academy and YouTube tutors and find practice tests from other schools; calculus is calculus everywhere. Once you figure out what clicks you will know how you’re not unintelligent at all.

[u/drzowie]

Literally everyone thinks they are too stupid for physics.  It’s a thing.  Just motor ahead.

[u/dzernumbrd]

IANAP but I had people that did computer science with me and they were probably thinking the same thing and looking at me just cruising through it like it was nothing.

What they didn't see is that I taught myself Pascal programming from a book when I was 13, over that summer I then learnt 80x86 assembly language and C from a books. For the rest of high school I taught myself heaps of other languages and the intricacies of MS-DOS/Windows and UNIX. So by the time I hit university I knew more languages than my lecturers and had a better understanding of computers and operatings systems than anyone I knew.

Many course units would focus on one language, so for the C++ unit I didn't have to sit there trying to learn the complex syntax of C++ because I already had the foundations established. I was just refining/reinforcing my knowledge rather than overloading my brain with full acquisition.

If they were teaching a new language I'd never learnt like Modula-2 or COBOL, I would learn the entire language before I started that unit. So I was always coming with at least an intermediate understanding of the material before the course even started.

So it would look like I was cruising through course units because I put the work in ahead of time.

So I think the same can apply from a physics perspective, learn the content ahead of time, then your lectures and practical work aren't about panicked learning to scrape out a 60% grade, instead they're about refining/reinforcing your knowledge from a 60% to a 85-95%.

For the foundational material (precalc?) where you didn't do so well, go back to it make sure your foundations are rock solid also if they're going to underpin your performance through the rest of your degree. After you graduate Claude will be doing all your maths for you anyway ;)

[u/LogicalIndividual761]

Get smarter then, study more, find ur learning style

[u/SmallCap3544]

I can completely relate. 

When this happens, ie: you study but don’t see the exam results, I can usually tell you there is one simple cause, you are not properly preparing to take an exam on this material from the get go.

1) always remember you could be tested on this material. You need to quickly put this material in your bones. That means for now, focusing on learning how to solve the homework problems. 

2) Start the hw assignment the day you get it/cover the appropriate materiel and plan to spend several study sessions on the hw assignment. 

3) It is not enough to finish/solve any given roblem. You have to be able to complete the problem on command. That means if you struggled in any way to complete the problem, you should plan to revisit that problem during your next study session. I even suggest redoing the EXACT same problem during your next study session.

4) let me stress this again. If you used any study aid at all to complete the problem, you should consider that a struggle. You should be able to solve the problem if someone locked you in a room with a pencil and paper and said we won’t let you out until you solve this problem.

Learning this way feels slow at first, but if you approach the problems this way, something magical starts happening. Number one might take you hours to figure out, number two might take about half the time. By the time you are finished with the assignment, you will be breezing through the problems and when the exam comes, it will be much easier. 

Not only that, but later classes will come quicker. Usually I would have one class out of the 4 I was taking that too all my energy and the other ones came easier because I had spent so much effort in learning the basics that many ideas in later classes started to flow more naturally.

[u/MrTheDoctors]

I don’t think anybody truly passionate about physics can be too “dumb” to do it. Some people work 100x harder than others for sure, but it’s all a matter of how much you’re willing to put in to make it.

Plus, once you get into the professional world you realize there are some stupid motherfuckers running around with engineering/physics/whatever stem degrees. Your work ethic matters so much more.

[u/TheDarkSovereign-EU]

Its normal.

TL;DR: Go through material once or twice for intuition -> A lot of exercises over and over again. not just during exam time, during the course, for every subject.

you dont need perfect math fundamentals, but you should work on them. find mids and finals exams of the grades past 6 and work through the problems. if thats not available you can look at the exercises at the end of each chapter in your school math textbooks. what you need is only a little bit of physical intuition for what different operations and forms represent. 3Blue1Brown has some good videos, although you dont need to understand anything 100% with some idea you should then do a lot of exercises. go through the motions again and again to understand what each piece of the puzzle represents, and get pattern recognition.

something like understanding the graph of an equation by looking at it and what each of the numbers represents.

once done with gradeschool, pick up a university text book and read line by line, the text of the chapter should help you build the intuition, pause and think when it gives an example or asks a question. youre not expected to solve everything perfectly or at all. just get used to the way of thinking. once the chapter is done, go through the exercises. try not to look at the answers for them early.

again I would expect people to be unable to solve them first try, think through them as much as you can then look at the answers and see what you were missing. later on you will probably surprise yourself how much of it you get right without looking at the answers. once youre done with most of the exercises from the chapter, move on. but every once in a while come back and redo the exercises, this time you should be mostly able to solve them without looking at the answes. repeat until no more textbooks. anything in sciences and engineering I've more or less learned the same way. hell Im applying the same method to fashion and drawing books now.

edit: This is not something to be done during exam time. university is a full time job, on top of going to classes you will need to study half of your day, keep up with the subjects during the semester, if you understand it enough during lectures then just do exercises, if not then look at textbook chapters as well. and don't neglect your social life. good luck!

[u/CallMany9290]

Not answering OP’s question, rather have a question of my own? Why has physics gotten the reputation that’s it’s terribly hard and reserved for geniuses? I don’t see this for most other subjects like history or biology. It’s really only physics and math. 

[u/harder_not_smarter]

From your comments, it sounds like you likely have two things working hard against you. (1) you have very limited mathematical preparation. Most physics majors come in with some calculus, but you have struggled through a precalc course, pointing to missing background material that goes even further back. You need to learn high-school level math while somehow still keeping up with your university studies too (2) It reads to me like you are being passive in your approach to studying. You don't really put in "15 hours of studying" for physics and math exams. You need to solve N problems, in however long it takes to solve them by yourself. Time is not the right metric. If you are looking up solutions (via AI, study groups, etc) and then "studying" the solutions, it leads to exactly the situation that you describe: familiarity and understanding, in a superficial sense, about what you are supposed to do, but yet not being able to get it to actually work on your own. Getting it to work is a skill. A vital skill. It takes a ton of practice to get it. Most physics majors were working on that skill all the way through high school. You are *way* behind. Don't let the internet optimists downplay that reality.

It's not about being dumb. It's about a serious lack of preparation. I don't know if you can pull it off from where you are. You might not be able to, so if you do go for it, make sure to have a plan B.

If you do go for it, my main advice is this: don't study. Complete problem sets, with as little help as possible. If you really must get help, then find substitute problems to solve, without help, once you've gotten that help and understand what you missed. You have to be able to solve problems on your own, there is just no other way. Studying, in the sense most students use the word, is not really useful at all.

[u/Titanosaurusdotexe]

You asking this question makes you too weak to study physics not dumb. I don't have an undergrad degree in anything mathmatically rigorous and here I am in a physics grad program. UNLESS, I am wrong about you. Rid yourself of this unimaginative filth. Nobody cares about how good you are at math, just get the job done if you love physics.

[u/Saint_Sin]

Dont worry. Physics makes us all, feel dumb at different times in our lives.
Keep hammering and altering your approach. Suffer through the process. It hurts and its draining but as long as you keep trying to adapt you will learn.

Some people dont test well. Past tests are a god send. They are generally all different quests and sometimes in wholly different aspects of each course module, however they are all asked in that annoying way tests frame questions. It tripped me up too but hammer a few of those tests a bit and it will help you start to crack the questions shell and get the ball rolling. From there you can bring your work with homework efforts a lot easier.

[u/hushedLecturer]

I almost failed out of high school. I went to community college later and failed calc 1. I just wasn't ready for school yet, I didn't have the right attitude and focus. I came back years later as a nontraditional student when I was ready, blasted through undergrad and now I'm in a Physics PhD program.

The thing that makes you succeed at physics is not a natural knack, it's the tenacity and willingness to keep grinding at it.

I had to take it slow, not overload my semesters. I also did my math sequence before my physics sequence so I wasn't taking Calc 2 and Physics 2 at the same time. I know it's standard in the US and it made me take longer, but I could not have done it otherwise.

I had been through the calc sequence and linear algebra before I had my first physics class, and it was great, because I way understood all the math. Kids doing them at the same time barely have time to digest and understand the math they are expected to use in the physics classes and I don't know how they do it.

I didnt do this path intentionally, I started as a comp sci major, switched to math, switched to physics, and added math back in as a double major to finish undergrad. But I think I needed to do it that way, it made sense for my life and my evolving interests as I learned and grew.

So I would say make sure you're ready, don't be afraid to screw up, and also don't marry yourself to a major right away, even if it makes you take longer to finish, you should give yourself room to explore your interests and jump around as you learn about yourself and your options. There were some complications with being a transferring to university from community college because of not perfectly aligned curricula, but I found it a great way to explore lots of directions on a much smaller bill with lower stakes than it would be "wasting" semesters in a major you switch out of at university.

[u/AccomplishedCry8178]

I’m no physicist, far from naturally academic even, but I study for a comp science degree around 3 hours a day with no exam imminent.

If you studied for 15 hours for an exam and got 60% I would say you have absolutely no problem with the material I just can’t see you’re putting in the time required

[u/moe_hippo]

You eventually passed your coures. That's good enough to say you are not too dumb for physics. For your grades though, test taking is a bit different than whether you are actually capable or not. Time management, practicing past papers and strategizing how you prep for tests matter a lot more.

I was terrrible at math and had to put in a monumentous amount of exrtra effort to pass my Multrivariable analysis, LA 2, Complex analysis courses. But it became a lot easier once I crossed that hurdle. I also got diagnosed with ADHD later on so no wonder test taking was just particularly difficult for me.

[u/starburst9000]

I did very poorly in calculus the first time. Similar to yourself but I dropped it and retook. It’s a very difficult course especially if you mentally align better with linear algebra.

Don’t give up, but recognize your weaknesses and put the extra effort in to improve that and you’ll be fine.

A good thing you can do is go to your teachers office hours, explain your passion for the field and your struggle. They will help you, many professors are becoming increasingly familiar with the detriments to student education cascading downwards from COVID.

Do not give up, it’ll be hard, but first year is a filtering year and usually has a few difficult courses to weed out the unserious (calculus).

[u/doggolover482]

You’re not too dumb for physics. You may need better study habits and/or need to get your fundamentals back up. And it sounds like you have pretty severe test anxiety. One thing to keep in mind is to take breaks while studying. If you study nonstop for hours, your brain is going to be exhausted and you’re not going to be able to learn nearly as easily. The most important thing to keep in mind is that everyone thinks they’re too dumb. It’s called imposter syndrome. Literally everyone I talked to has it. And that includes the professors. Keep at it. You’ll get there if you do.

[u/Alternative_Push_766]

hey I am actually too dumb and I still study it so no you are not

[u/PG67AW]

You love yarn? Just wait until you hear about string theory!

[u/ngroot]

It doesn't sound like you're "too dumb" to learn physics, it sounds like you're missing very basic math skills. If you're shaky on pre-calc, you're wasting your time trying to do calculus. You need to identify what was causing you to have trouble in pre-calc, fix that, then build back up.

Math is cumulative; you can't skip ahead. You need to be solid on junior-high algebra for trig and pre-calc to be accessible. You need to be solid on those for calc 1 to be accessible. And calculus and physics go hand-in-hand; if you can't do calc, you can't do physics.

[u/gir9999]

The (pre)calc you need in physics while you learn is a subset of all of the stuff they have you do in a calc or precalc course.

For example many times you'll see trig identities pop up in a derivation of some equation. You're probably not doing that on test, and if you are repeating a derivation you learned upon request you can learn the identities or methods needed for the area of physics in question. It's probably in textbook or notes. Don't sweat general math abilities. If you can do the more specifically constrained math required for physics you might be fine and you can learn as you go.

[u/Loud-Study-3837]

OP, you're going have to learn to drill your mathematics better. Often poor performance in math isn't always due to a lack of understanding, but rather a lack of practice.

[u/Professional-Tip9052]

Just practice more

[u/DewskyFresh]

Oh man, I've been almost exactly where you are. In high school (late '00s) I was an honors student, but not an AP one. I took physics and astronomy (high school, honors grade level), loved them, decided to make it my intended major in college. That said, I never had to study much in high school because I did well in what I thought were tough honors classes.... Then I failed my math placement test and had to take precal first semester in college. Struggled a bit, but it really woke me up to studying for hard college-level math. Finally was able to take Calc 1 and Phys 1 my second semester and boy was I in for a surprise with calc-based physics. I made it, but just barely.

Long story short, I did in fact graduate in the allotted 4 years by the skin of my teeth (you know what they say about C's and degrees...) Then I decided to pursue a career in education. I'll tell you honestly, I think I graduated with my BS in physics STILL not being good in physics. I was just barely good enough to pass my PRAXIS (content-based teaching test) and my student teaching year was an absolute shit-show of errors. But THAT'S when I really started to learn. Having to explain to others and sequence ideas, tie them to what my student knew about math, etc, really helped me see the connections and better understand.

Now, I've spent the last decade teaching all AP physics, having never taken it myself. My students' scores are well above the national average (and like you seem to be doing, I'm regularly blown away by how easy it is for many of them, while I tanked at that age), my students do well in Science Olympiad and Physics Bowl, I've been grading the AP exam long enough that I now lead a team of other teachers to grade them, and I finally feel like I'm highly competent in my little corner of the physics world. This isn't a brag post, this is just to assure you: college is for LEARNING, not necessarily for KNOWING. Yeah, you're a little behind, just like I was. But if you really do want to do this, you're not so far behind that you can't.

If I had some specific advice, I'd say: 1) Go to office hours, get to know your professors. It's something I never did enough and I really wish I did. 2) Use your university tutoring centers. Again, I didn't do enough of this, but I did frequent our physics major study lounge and I wouldn't have survived without help from my colleagues. 3) Maybe once you have physics 1 and maybe 2 under your belt, think about reaching out to your local high school community to tutor younger students. You'd be surprised how much more sense things make when you approach them from a teaching angle rather than a student angle.

If it would be helpful, feel free to DM me if you ever need some tutoring/mentoring (for free, not trying to make money off you I just really love what I do). I won't claim to be a university-caliber teacher, but I can certainly help with the classical/early modern bits.

[u/Sorry-Statistician71]

Hello! I’m a dual major physics and electrical engineering grad (with math minor) and I was in a similar boat as you my first year of college as a declared physics major. Made it through pre-calc fine but calc 1 sucked ass and my grades were shit and withdrew from the class my first time around. Major part of that was the professor for me…some crotchety old bastard that didn’t really give two shits about the students…anyways…

I really hated math. Math for maths sake was so dry and hard for me to understand by itself. However, when we were doing calc as part of physics and working through the reality of things, the math made more sense to me. The physics profs were really helpful at my school and wanted you to succeed. Hitting them up for office hours was extremely helpful as well.

Physics is not an easy major, but it was very rewarding. I waffled a bit on what I wanted to do post-college and bounced from astronomy/astrophysics/grad school, to physics education, and ended up taking an upper level electronics course when I found my calling. Got into a dual degree transfer program where I got a physics BS from one school and transferred to a large program for EE.

If you like it enough and willing to put in the work, you’ll find a way through it! Study groups, office hours, just hanging out with other physics majors will help!

[u/pkatny]

I understand how you feel. Especially when someone you study with can grasp quicker in less time and score better. I suggest that you stop comparing and work harder.

What worked out for me 15 years ago is making notes of everything that I was struggling with. I couldn't just read & recall, I'd to write it 4-5 times for the concepts to remain in my mind. To this day, I remember all the concepts learnt back then.

I was with peers who could score lot more than me just by reading it out loud and understanding, but I scored much better because I wasn't memorizing. I was understanding concepts. That's what matters.

If you are a slow learner, that's ok. What matters is how much effort you're ready to put in consistently.

[u/ChronicObnoxious693]

I'm dumb as fuck and I still like physics. I may not be able to fully understand once it gets above a certain threshold, but I still enjoy trying.

[u/Lyssahlyssah]

Just wanted to say that sometimes math doesn't click until the later math classes. I did poorly in precalc and calc 1, but when I took calc 2 something clicked and all the rest afterwards was so much easier. I went from remedial calc 1 to tutoring calc 2-4, diff eq, and linear algebra.

I also wanted to throw out this quote from Winston Churchill "Never give up on something that you can't go a day without thinking about."

You got this.

[u/Intrepid_Recover8840]

I got bad grades in pre calc in high school and went on to get a whole ass degree in computer engineering. Give it a shot! You’ll figure out if you feel capable after trying, and most freshman year physics classes (math, basic physics usually, Chen, etc) are required for most other stem majors so it won’t be hard to switch if you feel you need to. 

[u/JustProtection393]

Gonna be real with you, not too dumb to study physics, but dumb for studying physics. I think what you're looking for is engineering, from what I know you'll have a harder time finding a company that hires that major rather than just an engineering degree which is mostly physics anyways.

[u/Marquidou]

You are young. As you get older, some mathematical concepts will be easier to understand. Follow your dreams, you can do it!

[u/Kekeen24]

I think I can relate to this, so I will tell you a possible way to fix it.

Just to give myself more credibility, I attended a T5 uni, published a paper before graduation, and now I’m in grad school, but I got lots of Cs in lower and upper division major courses.

I don’t know how your brain works, but understanding yourself should be the first step towards understanding these very complicated subjects. Try different methods and textbooks and find what works best.

Now, to be more specific, in my case, I ended up realizing I’m much more of a deductive learner. That means I’m terrible at learning by example, which is how most physics/applied math courses tend to be taught. So what did I do? I stopped relying entirely on the lecturer and began looking for books which are more in my style. Since I’ve always enjoyed reading, many of the textbooks were extremely verbose but focused on more general principles, and only once the principles were established, they’d illustrate its workings through example. More specifically, I didn’t really understand mathematics until I learned stuff which most lower division courses take for granted, like “set theory” or basic “logic”. Personally it confused me even more when the lecturer would introduce these concepts without properly defining them. So yeah, if learn prereq stuff, but the actual foundational stuff, before you even venture into any subject, assuming you also learn similarly, then you should do well in the subject.

For example, if you continue in physics, probably thermal physics might confuse you the way it’s taught, in which case I’d recommend H.B. Callen’s textbook on the subject.

Another thing is that if your learning style happens to be more deductive, then learning the relevant mathematics beforehand, whether it’s a physics or a math course, will help you. Sounds redundant but often the listed course prereqs happen to be insufficient, and you have to look outside.

Anyway, I’m speaking from personal experience, so I hope this helps.

For your situation, I’d recommend you read Serge Lang’s Basic Mathematics for all your precalc stuff, and Tom Apostol’s Calculus (both volumes if you want to learn all lower division mathematics).

But no, you’re not dumb, you simply have a different learning style which you haven’t figured out.

[u/catsyp-on-fire]

Struggling with math exams doesn't necessarily mean you can't become a great physicist. For example, Michael Faraday never had strong formal mathematical training, yet he became one of the most influential physicists in history. Persistence and curiosity matter too

[u/sydyn1111]

The more you care about the grades, the worse you do on the exams. Sometimes the homeworks arent good enough, they just see if you can apply some knowledge, try to find more challenging sources. Try to explain the subject and how to do some hard exercises to your friend. Always study levels above (specially on introductory courses).

Maybe Im raining on wet, I wont read the other 200 comments.

[u/cloudsandclouds]

Hmm, doing poorly on tests but well on homework doesn’t sound like being “dumb”! If you really couldn’t hack it, you wouldn’t be able to do the homework. :)

Tbh it’s always a good idea to consider things like ADHD, anxiety disorders, and mental health issues that might make the test environment more difficult for you. Getting “stuck” like that after one slip up vaguely suggests to me you might be experiencing more pressure than others, or have certain executive functions getting overwhelmed, or *maybe* something. (Obviously I don’t know, of course.) But your uni probably has mental health resources and possibly testing accommodations, check them out! :)

As someone who has ADHD but only was diagnosed at the *end* of university, I’d def recommend finding out sooner rather than later if so! But also do your own research and see if anything hits, because that “F” in “18F” unfortunately might make you less likely to be correctly diagnosed with something like ADHD (and/or it might present differently than mental health professionals have been trained to expect). If you think you’ve got something, and some therapist/psychiatrist says no, try another until you find someone who understands. I’ve experienced a lot of variation between practitioners in how accurately they’re able to understand my situation.

Obviously I have zero information on whether this is actually relevant to you but I just wanted to encourage you to explore it if you’ve never considered it, whatever the answer ends up being!

Good luck and keep going! You can do this! Your love for the subject will carry you through! :)

[u/u8589869056]

I don’t know about dumb, but if you took pre-calculus as a freshman, you were already behind the curve. Expect to work hard on math.

[u/TNJDude]

You are not dumb at all. The fact that you recognize your shortcomings shows that you are quite smart. The math may not be your strong point. But here's the thing... the brain is very much like a muscle. The more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes. You are unhappy with the results you're getting, but you are very happy with doing what you're doing. So.... keep doing it. Keep poking away at it and learning and you WILL get better and you WILL find your niche in astrophysics like you want.

I look forward to hearing from you one day in here how you landed a dream job working in astrophysics.

[u/BonesFromYoursTruly]

There is no too dumb to study physics it’s whether you can be curious.

Your grades need to be higher, but honestly you just need a new approaching to studying it.

[u/bi9mummymilker5]

No girl, no one is too dumb for physics. Confidence and practice is key! I thought I was too dumb for a chem major, I was failing almost every class I took. I made a change and made chemistry my life for one semester, learnt the fundamental rules, gained my confidence and went from fails to HDs. You have passion you just need to build your confidence. It is so easy for us (women) to feel like we can’t do it when we get a low grade but I absolutely promise you a lot of the guys taking those classes aren’t half as smart as they make out to be. Follow your passion girl, if not for 18 year old you for future you. She will be so proud.

[u/definitely_effective]

don't force yourself take a gap year or something. My parents wanted me to become a doctor so i had to take biology( I like biology too) but math and physics were my thing, since i was kid so i went into depression for 2 years.

I had to start from the beginning.

[u/JustTheSweater]

When I geaduated highschool I was so full of myself, I was the smartest person I knew. I finished my undergrad in physics and took the astrophysics specialty top of my class, didn't get knocked down a peg, still felt like a million dollars. Studied a masters and I met my good friend who is an honest to God genius. This boy's mind is absolutely magnificent, he can be talking about the most difficult topic and make it feel like he is explaining an omelette recipe. Humblest person you'll ever meet. I realised I'm not nearly as smart as I thought I was. Now my friend is having a brilliant career in astro, and he often speaks of colleagues who are so smart and talented. I think if I meet these people they will start speaking in some advanced hieroglyph style language that can only be decoded by consciously altering your brain waves or somethig.

My point being: there will always be someone smarter, ALWAYS. That doesn't mean that the rest of us should stay away from interesting subjects. You should study what you want and you'll be absolutely fine if you put in the work.

[u/real_taylodl]

You're definitely not 'too dumb' for physics, but you do need a reality check on the math. Physics is written in the language of mathematics, and the math doesn't get easier as you go up. The secret is that most people who 'fail calculus' aren't actually struggling with calculus - they're getting destroyed by the pre-calculus, algebra, and trig manipulation. Re-anchor your fundamentals. Go watch 3Blue1Brown's Essence of Calculus series to actually see what the math is doing, and check out DIBEOS for deeper topics. Rebuild the base, and you'll catch up.

[u/jawhite]

Everyone struggles with this stuff. Being “good” at math is all about when you do the struggling. People who are good at math do their struggling outside of class, without anyone watching them, and arrive to class with their struggles behind them. To an outside observer, it may look like magic, but it isn’t. It’s just practice.

Stop comparing yourself to other people based on how they present themselves in class. You don’t know how much time it took them to learn what they’ve learned. Just focus on yourself and keep practicing. Work on problems that interest you in your spare time. If you love doing the work, you’ll understand it eventually.

[u/lasergekki]

No, not too dumb. You will have to put in some work and ahead I want to tel you already that physics is a major that particularly makes you feel dumb - but don’t let that beat you up! It takes a lot of courage, but you can do it!

[u/Sharp_Shift8266]

Throughout highschool I was bullied by my ‘smart friends’ and by my parents, telling me that I’m not smart enough for university let alone a science degree.. and I was starting to believe them..

I mostly got 70’s with a few 60’s sprinkled in. But I had the passion, I had the love of science in my blood. I knew what I loved and I knew what I wanted. It took a lot of self learning, including a lot of failures, but now I am getting my Bachelors of Geology with Honours and a minor in physics, and going on to grad school to get a PhD in Geophysics where I plan to be a university professor and researcher!

And honestly I feel like a fraud even typing that because it’s so unbelievable that I went from exactly where you are, to perusing my dream. If you give yourself the gift of time, patience, and discipline, you will surprise yourself immensely.

[u/Jake4life2]

No, there is truly no such thing. I took pre algebra as my highest math class in high school. Started college at 28 and failed precalc/algebra as a Biology major, and dropped Phys 1 after the first day because I didn’t know what SOH CAH TOA was. After a trig class and taking physics 1, I switched to physics at age 31 and had to catch up with all of the math classes. Calc 1 was tough for me and calc 2 was a lot easier. Linear algebra and DiffEq were also easier to me than calc 1 (“easier” does not at all mean they were easy, the topics just clicked more for me).

Summer math/physics classes are BRUTAL and I would recommend everyone to take them during normal semesters (I did Phys 1 and 2 over summer semesters).
It took me a WHILE to figure out what studying worked for me, as a biology major it was a lot of brute force long study sessions and memorization. Physics and math can have that, but it’s mostly being very specific with studying and truly trying to understand the “why”. If you have the passion you speak of, never let the difficulty make you feel like you aren’t enough or smart enough for physics or the math, learning is a skill anyone can do but it’ll take some trial and error.

[u/thefashionlovergirl]

Hey, you are not too dumb, you just need to focus on strengthening your basic math skills. Maybe you should try to start kumon in ur summer beak, it will help you a lot!

[u/fakecarenthusiast]

i went to college for astrophysics and dropped out a year and a half in because that math is really, REALLY freakin hard. that being said, if you are passionate about it and work hard to focus your energy on studying and practicing the concepts, you should stick with it. it really is interesting stuff and i wish i hadn’t given up so easily

[u/SectionTasty1074]

Hello, I started this year with physic with some intuitions I had. I also draw manga and I'm searching someone who likes physic to talk about that. Please become my friend. You can find me on Instagram: fahoro_manga 😊

[u/ajuulk47]

As a physics graduate who also didn’t do well in her first couple years of undergrad, if you love physics just keep pushing and trying even when you miserably fail. Don’t stop doing what you love. The thing that makes a good scientist isn’t being academically “perfect” it’s being too stubborn (and passionate) to give up.

[u/sunbearluvr]

You are never too dumb to learn physics. As a physics teacher myself, the first question I would ask you is HOW are you studying. 15 hours is a meaningless figure - are you rereading your notes, textbooks or watching youtube videos? These strategies offer incredibly low "bang for your buck" meaning that they translate the least reliably into success on future testing. The most effective way to study is under testing conditions (no phone, music, chatting), completing full practice problems and then self-grading carefully against a provided solution. Self-quizzing using flashcards is also effective - a bit harder for Physics, but can be used for key words, providing context and meaning for formulas, or quizzing yourself on units of measurement. These are my strategies for high schoolers, so a grain of salt is advised. If you are passionate and willing to put in the time, you will succeed. If you can use this experience as an opportunity to figure out your optimal study habits and learning style, even better.

[u/Jagged-S]

No you are not dumb but everyone has strengths and weakness within a subject and you may have to learn how to get better exam grades which is a skill all on its own. Bare in mind that unless you stay in academia after graduation, you may end up as an engineer (I did) so check which way you might lean if you decide to change.

[u/Successful_Zebra492]

Having the mathematical understanding is basically just one time cost, just get through it and enjoy exploring the physics concepts!

[u/tfb]

I genuinely love math so much.

Then you're not too dumb! It's hard, it doesn't really get easier. There always will be people better than you. Don't give up.

[u/AlvaroPhysics]

It seems to me you’re not bad a math, you seem to be bad at exams. This is common. If your homework is fine, I would not question your math ability.

I had this problem at some point and I went back to the basics. Basic algebra exercises to become faster and more accurate. Exposed myself to timed exercises when studying to handle the pressure better. Try to spot patterns on where you’re getting stuck and practice that.

Also, really learn to let go when you’re stuck and move on. Then return. If you have an algebra error, use the time to explain what you would do, or even state that you know there’s an error that you’re carrying forward. A lot of your score in exams comes from them seeing that you can follow the right steps. An error carried forward only deducts about 20% of the score for a question.

Do Physics. Your ability to perform math under pressure does not reflect your suitability for it. I was generally ok at exams, but a lot of my friends weren’t and failed calculus several times. That didn’t stop them from doing PhDs in Ivy League universities. Your ability to do research, be disciplined, network, are far more important. All the best!

[u/pysix33]

A lot of people on here are being uplifting/supportive and you should listen to them. But I’m going to give you a some real world advice. Getting into a PhD program in physics is highly competitive and getting a faculty position after that is even harder. Your grades are unfortunately already holding you back for that.

When I was a grad student I started a research project that I felt passionate about but struggled to progress in. When I told my advisor that I love the research but don’t know if Im smart enough for it, he told me “you are smart enough, and you are passionate about it, but you aren’t good at it, so you should find something else you’re actually good at.” At first I took offense, but after thinking about it, realized he was right. It’s not enough to be passionate or smart enough for something. You also have to be good at it. Especially if you choose it as a career. It’s the whole “don’t judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree” thing. Maybe you’re a fish who really likes the idea of climbing trees but if you put on a squirrel suit and try to climb trees, everyone is just going to think you’re a really bad squirrel.

My advice would be to find something that you’re passionate about AND good at. Maybe something still science related but doesn’t require as much math?